Lieutenant Brandon Tice received the promotion on Aug. 15 during last week’s city council meeting. In attendance at the ceremony were staff from the Elkins Police Department, Mayor Jerry Marco, city council members, city staff, friends and family.

“For me, this is probably my favorite rank to promote an officer to,” Elkins Police Chief Travis Bennett said before the ceremony. “And the reason for that is the significance of the rank of Lieutenant. Achieving Lieutenant is a landmark in a police officer’s career.”

The change of rank was administered by Bennett and Lieutenant Christopher Boatwright. Tice was called forward by Bennett to stand before him, Boatwright and the city council. Bennett then switched Tice’s badge from the sergeant silver to the lieutenant gold, which, according to Bennett, denotes the importance of the promotion.

“It’s a shift in what their responsibilities are and what their duties are,” Bennett said. “It’s such an important shift in responsibility, that we mark that change on the uniform by changing the color of the badge.”

Submitted photo Elkins Police Chief Travis Bennett and Lieutenant Christopher Boatwright pin the lieutenant gold bars on Tice's uniform.

Bennett and Boatwright then pinned the lieutenant gold bars onto the shoulders of Tice’s uniform. Tice also received a wooden plaque from Boatwright that was inscribed with the biblical verse, Psalm 26, also known as The Psalm of David, and the Elkins Police Department logo.

“It’s an honor and a privilege for us to get to witness our officers working up the chain of command,” Marco told The Inter-Mountain. “We worked long and hard to make the city of Elkins a desirable place to work in and try to reduce the amount of turnover we’ve had in the past.”

Marco also said that he had high hopes for Tice in the future.

“I could really probably see him being chief sometime in the future, down the road,” Marco said. “We’re very happy for him and his family.

 The Aug. 15 City Council Meeting also saw several resolutions passed, including:

A general revision of the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2025.

An expenditure of around $20,000 from the Building and Maintenance Fund to pay for the needed electrical improvements at the Elkins Fire Department.

A commitment to providing “in-kind services” necessary for a lighting installation as part of a grant-funded project proposal by the Old Brick Playhouse and the Augusta Heritage Center.

And the creation of a TIF Revenues Fund in the city’s chart of accounts and the authorization of opening a bank account to hold the TIF funding.